What Foods Should You Stay Away From If You Have Pollen Allergies?

About 70 percent of people with pollen allergies suffer from pollen-food allergy syndrome, also called oral allergy syndrome, which causes cross-reactions with food. These reactions are usually mild and may include itchy mouth and face and swollen throat. In some cases, however, it can lead to hives, nausea, or even anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction. Here are some foods to avoid to minimize pollen-food allergy reactions.

Different Pollen Types

• Cross-reactions occur because certain fruits, vegetables, and nuts are biologically related to plants whose pollen causes allergic reactions. What foods to avoid will depend on your specific allergies. A skin test administrated by an allergist can help determine which types of pollen cause allergic reactions.

  If you are allergic to ragweed, try avoiding bananas and melon. For a mugwort allergy, avoid apples, kiwi, carrots, peanuts, celery, parsley, coriander, caraway, anise and fennel. To avoid cross-reactions for grass, stop eating tomatoes and kiwi. For birch pollen, avoid hazelnuts, potatoes, peaches, pears, carrots, celery and apples.

  If you are unsure of what pollen you're allergic to, pay attention to which of these foods cause itching or discomfort and remove them from your diet.

Allergy Season

• Pollen-food allergy syndrome is usually worse during allergy season, when the pollen count--and your sensitivity to the allergen--is at its height. Some people don't experience cross-reactions at all when they are no longer exposed to a particular pollen. Others will experience oral allergy syndrome year-round. There is no way to tell except by testing your tolerance to different foods related to the pollen.

Minimize Cross-Reactions

• Cross-reactions can be minimized or eliminated simply by cooking the foods that cause reactions, because heating changes the food's chemical structure. This makes it possible to enjoy some of the foods that might otherwise cause reactions. Potatoes, for example, which are related to birch pollen, only cause cross-reactions when raw, and they are not ordinarily served that way. Apples can be baked or made into applesauce, carrots steamed, and tomatoes enjoyed in sauce or salsa.

  The ripeness and freshness of fruits and vegetables can also affect the strength of cross-reactions. Freshly picked fruit is usually safe for pollen-food allergy syndrome sufferers, while riper fruit causes stronger reactions. Removing the fruit's peel can also minimize your allergic reaction.

Treatment

• Oral allergy syndrome usually only produces mild reactions, unlike true food allergies. These reactions can be treated with an over-the-counter antihistamine. Allergy shots or other treatment for the underlying pollen allergy can reduce or eliminate cross-reactions with food.